This site hopefully can provide some vehicle by which I can comment, complain, and once in a while praise the state of religion in this country and around the world from a liberal protestant perspective.

Monday, August 07, 2006

Not a New Direction

Here's a piece on the direction of the Southern Baptist Convention. First is the rejection by the new denomination's president not only of women's ordination but also including women as deacons.

That's an odd stance because women are certainly deacons and recognized as such by Paul in the last chapter of Romans. I'm not sure how one is able to relate the SBC's stance and Paul's assertion that our central identity is found in Christ, not on our gender.

The new president also argued that the denomination needs to set greater parameters in defining beliefs for its members, especially its leadership then what Baptist Faith and Message has. An example was speaking in tongues which he would forbid in the church.

And with this we can be sure that soul competency, congregationalism and non creedalism is dead in the Southern Baptist Convention. Rather a church which regulates individual conscience has been put in it's place. No one has to worry about moderation from this church.

3 Comments:

The SBC's problem with female deacons has to resort from a misinformed distinction. The SBC is not unique in this but they seem, perhaps, to equate deacons and elders. These are positions which are distinct from one another in the scriptures. Eldership - that is the spiritual leadership of the church - is to be male while the deaconate was composed of both men and women. I am currently working through these issues in my own studies and will be posting them to my own blog shortly. (cf the link).

Even Paul, the apostle most beloved of fundagenitals, is quoted selectively by Southern Baptists. No mention of how there is no longer male or female in Christ Jesus, or that celibacy is preferrable to marriage, etc.